


Blurred

by SilverMoonSky



Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (sort of), Adrien Agreste Needs a Hug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Aged-Up Character(s), Bittersweet, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Ladynoir July, Ladynoir July 2020, Light Angst, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, but also fluffy i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: Marinette swallowed. “We’re going into this fight blindly. We don’t know anything.” Shame washed over her. She was supposed to be Ladybug, and she’d failed. “What if we can’t fix it? What if we’ve failed?”“Don’t say that,” Chat said quietly. “You and me against the world, remember?”Under any other circumstance, his words would have reassured her. But her heart was still healing from what happened days earlier. Perhaps the words would have held more meaning if she and Chat were still together. But instead, they only brought her a fresh wave of hurt.Marinette got to her feet, putting a hand on the wall. her voice thick with emotion as she croaked, “can I come over there?”He didn’t hesitate; of course he didn’t. He was too good for her like that.Written for Day 1: The Wall Between Us for Ladynoir July.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Ladynoir July 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812397
Comments: 14
Kudos: 224





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**Author's Note:**

> *pops into existence* hello, I'm still here! I'm aware I didn't finish Ladrien June (it was a busy month and I had another writing project I was working on), but I might work on the remaining prompts throughout July/August—or at the very least, finish that multi-chapter fic I started. However, Ladynoir July is my priority right now. It's my favorite love square ship and I love it so, _so_ much, so please excuse me while I fangirl this entire month :P
> 
> But anyways, enough of my rambling. Enjoy! :)

In twenty-four hours, with only three recharges and an entire city hunting them down, it was safe to say both Ladybug and Chat Noir were exhausted.

Scarlet Moth had once again made an unexpected appearance. He managed to get most of their allies under his control, just like the first time. Only now? He was scarily close to succeeding. With the entire city hunting them down, Ladybug and Chat Noir had hardly gotten time to themselves. Carrying the Miracle Box with them, they’d just barely managed to find a small apartment for them to duck into to detransform. The owners seemed to have already been akumatized, so there wasn’t anyone unexpected inside. The two of them took the chance to recharge their kwamis. Tikki and Plagg were just as exhausted as they were, after all. They both agreed to use separate bedrooms while their kwamis recharged.

Marinette was looking forward to catching up on sleep. But in all honesty, she wasn’t looking forward to spending the next several hours in an apartment alone with Chat. As she sat down on a bed and let Tikki eat some cookies, all she could think about was the fact that her partner—and ex-boyfriend—was on the other side of the wall. She wasn’t quite sure if she could handle being so close, yet so far from him at the same time.

“Ladybug?” Chat’s voice rang through the air. The voice was slightly muffled from the wall between them. “Are you okay in there?”

No, of course she wasn’t okay. Hawk Moth was close to winning, half of the Miraculouses from the box were missing, and Chat wasn’t by her side like he was supposed to be.

“I’m fine.”

There was silence on the other side of the wall. If Chat had picked up on her lie—which she was sure he did; he knew her too well—he didn’t comment on it. Instead he quietly asked, “so what do we do now?”

Marinette sighed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Hawk Moth’s too strong. All our allies have been compromised. Our only choice is to hand out the other Miraculouses, but. . . .”

“They could get into Hawk Moth’s grasp too,” Chat finished for her.

“Yeah.”

“We could try merging Miraculouses,” he said. “That would be better than just going in with our normal powers.”

She frowned. “Using too many Miraculouses at the same time would be taxing. But at this point, I think that’s our only option.”

Chat hummed in agreement, and silence befell the two of them once again. Marinette stared down at her hands.

“You know, nearly everyone I trust has been akumatized.”

There was a bitter laugh from the other side of the wall. “Same here. Hawk Moth really wasn’t sparing this time.”

“Chat,” she whispered, “what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to defeat him?”

“I. . . . I don’t know, bug. I don’t know.”

Marinette’s heart clenched at the nickname. Being so close to Chat—being just a wall away—was a pain she tried her hardest not to acknowledge. They had a supervillain to defeat. The last thing she needed was to reminisce over the past.

She swallowed. “We’re going into this fight blindly. We don’t know _anything._ ” Shame washed over her. She was supposed to be _Ladybug,_ and she’d failed. “What if we can’t fix it? What if we’ve failed?”

“Don’t say that,” Chat said quietly. “You and me against the world, remember?”

Under any other circumstance, his words would have reassured her. But her heart was still healing from what happened days earlier. Perhaps the words would have held more meaning if she and Chat were still together. But instead, they only brought her a fresh wave of hurt.

Marinette got to her feet, putting a hand on the wall. her voice thick with emotion as she croaked, “can I come over there?”

He didn’t hesitate; of course he didn’t. He was too good for her like that. “Of course,” he said. Marinette could already picture him holding out his arms.

She didn’t need to be asked twice. After getting approval from Tikki, she transformed and made her way into the other bedroom. Chat was already transformed. He gave her a small smile and opened up his arms. Ladybug wasted no time in stumbling into his embrace, wrapping hers around his waist as she buried her face against his shoulder. Chat pulled her close, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have carelessly given out those Miraculouses, I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s not your fault,” Chat interrupted, his grip on her tightening. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s just as much my fault as it is yours.”

“But _I’m_ the Guardian. I should have—”

“My lady, stop.”

She suddenly felt moisture well up in her eyes. “Your lady?” she whispered quietly. After what had happened several days ago, she’d thought. . . .

“Yes,” he whispered back. “My lady.”

Ladybug bit her lip, willing for the tears to recede, but she failed. In an instant she was crying, pressing her face closer against his shoulder. All the stress from the past couple of hours seemed to pour out at that moment, and Chat held her, saying nothing; in that moment, Ladybug was sure if she looked up, she would see him crying too.

The break up had been hard on the both of them. It was mutual; they both agreed their superhero duties were more important, and their relationship was getting in the way. There was a reason Ladybug had always insisted on keeping their relationship professional, after all. But somewhere along the line, the border had blurred, and she'd realized. . . . she’d had feelings for Chat all along.

They’d only ended their relationship several days prior, but between everything that had happened, they’d never really been able to actually _heal._ No matter what, they had to see each other nearly every single day. And now, with Hawk Moth becoming Scarlet Moth and the rest of Paris being akumatized, they only had each other.

Ladybug wanted to be mad, she really did. She wanted to scream, shout, ask the world why they hadn’t worked out.

But she knew exactly why it hadn’t. They were superheroes. There were secrets to keep, little details that couldn’t be shared, a wall between them they couldn’t cross. Their identities _had_ to remain secret. Even though she was the Guardian now, Ladybug knew she had to continue to enforce the rule. Because in all honesty? She had no idea what would happen if she _didn’t._ Memories of Chat Blanc still haunted her; she couldn’t let that happy to her kitty.

And yet, it still hurt.

“I thought it was over,” she murmured. “I thought. . . . I’m not _your_ lady, Chat.”

Chat was silent for a while, and Ladybug was almost afraid he hadn’t heard the statement. But then his reply came, so quiet she had to strain her ears to hear it.

“You always will be.”

Just when she’d thought she’d controlled her tears, fresh moisture began falling down her cheeks all over again. She stepped away from their embrace and looked up to meet his eyes.

“How?” she breathed.

He gave her a soft smile. His eyes were just as glassy as hers were. “Did you really think a break up would stop me from loving you?”

Gosh, he was too good for her. Ladybug swallowed, but it was of no use. Her voice was nothing short of raspy as she whispered, “why did we have to break up?”

Chat simply shook his head. “You know why.”

“But what if there were no secrets between us?” she whispered. “What if we revealed our identities?”

“Hawk Moth’s still—”

“Do you really think it’s going to get worse than this?” Ladybug asked. “We’re already vulnerable. Revealing our identities isn’t going to do much at this point.”

“Funny how we’ve switched positions, bugaboo,” Chat said, a slight tease in his voice. “You were always such a stickler about identities.”

At that, Ladybug cracked a small smile, though there were still tears in her eyes. “We don’t have to reveal our identities if you don’t want to. I just thought. . . .”

Chat dropped his teasing. “Do you really want this?” he asked quietly.

“I love you,” she said simply, knowing Chat would figure out her answer from that short phrase. He reached out and took her hands in his.

“I love you too,” he murmured. “But you know what this means, right?”

“No more secrets,” she said, squeezing his hands. _No wall between us._

He smiled. “Are you ready?”

 _As I’ll ever be._ She couldn’t bring herself to speak; her throat was thick with emotion. Instead, she only nodded. This was it. She’d finally figure out his secret identity, and everything would be okay. Hawk Moth may not be defeated, but there would be no more secrets between them anymore. The main reason they’d broken up would no longer exist, and perhaps they’d be stronger together.

“In three?” Chat asked.

“In three,” she agreed, closing her eyes.

“One,”

“Two,”

“Three.”

“Spots off,” Ladybug whispered.

“Claws in.”

The suits vanished, and Marinette could suddenly feel Chat’s bare skin brushing her fingers. The same hands she’d held in hers for ages, and yet this was the first time she’d felt this sensation. The barrier that had been up for so long had finally fallen—she wasn’t sure if she was more excited or nervous. On the one hand, she was eager to figure out who he was, but on the other hand. . . .

“Marinette,” she heard Chat breathe. He seemed in awe, and his grip against her fingers tightened.

“Is that a good thing?” she asked, her eyes still closed.

“Better than good,” he said with a soft laugh. “Open your eyes, my lady.”

She did. Marinette lifted her head to see the curve of familiar cheekbones slanting up to familiar green eyes—green eyes she’d seen hundreds of times, and yet, it now felt like she was seeing them for the first time.

“Adrien,” she whispered, and he barely had time to say anything before she brought him closer, crashing her lips against his. Her fingers weaved into his hair as his hands found refuge at his waist. It was familiar, but at the same time, it wasn’t. She’d kissed Chat so many times, but kissing Adrien—her former crush, one of her best friends, also now known as the love of her life—knowing he was the one who lay under the mask was entirely differently.

Things weren’t okay. Hawk Moth was still raging, the akumatized people were still there, and it was just them. And yet. . . .

“You and me against the whole, right?” she murmured against his lips.

Adrien smiled. “Always.”

And that was the only thing she needed to hear.


End file.
